A couple of nights ago, Erik and I decided to go to bed early - like 8:30 early. We were both exhausted, he from hard work and long hours and me from the crummy sleep that happens when you're pregnant, can't find a good position to sleep in, and have to go to the bathroom every 4 hours. We settled down blissfully, only to be woken an hour later by crazy thunder and lightning right over our house. Which of course woke up our sick baby, who had been dosed with Tylenol and should have slept like a log all night. Morgan screamed and screamed, and would only stop when we held her and rocked her. This continued for an hour or more, with Erik and I taking turns. It's amazing how a peaceful sleepy infant can instantly turn into an alert screaming bundle of rage as soon as she is laid back down. Now, normally Erik and I are very firm with her at night - we've let Morgan cry it out many nights, and are convinced that's part of the reason that she is such a good sleeper. But when she's sick, and you're already exhausted, you do irrational things in order to get back to bed. Like bringing your baby back with you. Morgan has not slept near our bed since she was 2 months old, and I guess I'd forgotten why we moved her to her own room at that young age. She settled right down, nestled between Mommy and Daddy, but Mommy laid awake, getting kicked and maneuvered out of the bed that already feels small with Erik in it. After more than an hour of patiently waiting, I was sure she was asleep, so I carefully picked her up and moved her back to her crib. And as soon as she hit the pillow she was wide awake and mad. It was after midnight. I was tired and desperate. So she "slept" the rest of the night with us. But none of us really slept, because every time we looked over at her her eyes were wide open. And if we dared sleep, she would poke us in the face until we woke up. For once, Erik got to eat breakfast with his daughter before he left for work. After that night, we swore to each other that we would let her cry all night before taking her into our bed, regardless of storms. And just to show how quickly years of training can be undone, the next night, instead of calmly going to bed like usual, Morgan said, "Mama's bed?"
3 comments:
I know your the pain! Every time we go up to SL to see our family we go through the same thing. Marshall sleeps great at home (I agree partially because we made him cry it out) but when we are on vacation he gets all out of whack. He screams bloody murder the second we lay him down, no matter how long he's been asleep. We've tried sleeping with him and yes none of us sleep. Every month when we travel I swear I'll never leave home again. I'm so glad we aren't the only ones experiencing this. But I know it's so frustrating and I'm sorry!!
Ben and I are total softies when Addie is sick. But we shared a bed with her several times on vacations and it is no picnic. For some reason she always ends up horizontal on the bed, kicking all night.
seriously, i feel your pain. and i feel like i get up more with eliza these days than with nora. it is so wrong. just so you know, we fully support your usual cry-it-out method. fully, fully support. although that only goes so far when you live in an apartment with neighbors all around you and paper thin walls...
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